


The Ice Prince

by lilhoney



Series: Haikyuu Fics and AUs [6]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Angst, Anxiety, Competition, Drama, Fate & Destiny, Figure Skater Akaashi Keiji, Figure Skater Bokuto Koutarou, Figure Skater Kageyama Tobio, First Kiss, First Meetings, Flashbacks, Friendship, Getting Together, Getting to Know Each Other, Hockey, Hurt/Comfort, Ice Skating, Implied Sexual Content, Injury, Inspired by Yuri!!! on Ice, Japan Figure Skating Championships, M/M, Moving On, Mystery, PTSD, Romance, Slow Burn, Training, Trauma, coach bokuto koutarou, figure skater oikawa tooru, figure skating AU, stage fright
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-16
Updated: 2021-01-16
Packaged: 2021-03-14 17:21:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28799043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilhoney/pseuds/lilhoney
Summary: "'So please.' He reached out his arm. 'Use me as your wings, and I swear I'll never let you fall.'"When Keiji Akaashi - an amateur but naturally gifted figure skater with crippling stage fright - reluctantly conscripts Koutarou "Ice Prince" Bokuto to be his coach, he earns a spot in the Japanese Figure Skating Championship and a chance to turn his life in a whole new direction. However, as Akaashi rapidly improves and the two become closer by the day, Akaashi starts to suspect that the recently retired Bokuto is harboring more secrets than he'll let on.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji & Bokuto Koutarou, Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Akaashi Keiji/Oikawa Tooru, Fukunaga Shouhei/Yamamoto Taketora, Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio, Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru, Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou
Series: Haikyuu Fics and AUs [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2028124
Comments: 4
Kudos: 5





	The Ice Prince

**Author's Note:**

> inspired partly by this fanart (i cannot find the artist, so someone pls let me know in the comments!)  
> https://www.pinterest.ph/pin/729723945849868435/

"Damn, it's cold." Bokuto muttered, rubbing his gloved hands together. As snow fell from a gloomy grey sky above him, he made his way through a suburb to try and find the ice rink Konoha mentioned to him. He'd actually been meaning to do it for some weeks now, but had put it off over and over again for whatever reason. Not like he was going to skate, of course, but Bokuto thought it'd be nice to have a look at it. Maybe even see a few skaters in action if he could. Maybe that'd be nice.

Finally, when his phone chirped that he'd reached his destination, he stopped. He gazed up at a wide, sleek building that matched the description his friend gave him. The name of it, in black letters above the glass door entrance, read, "Tokyo Ice and Sports Center." Bokuto was sure it wasn't really in Tokyo necessarily, but close enough, right? Bokuto tried one of the front doors. It jiggled, but to no avail. He huffed in disappointment. He'd just taken about a half hour to get here in the bitter cold, he wasn't about to let some locked doors stop him now. He glanced around, and, finding no potential eyewitnesses, snuck his way to the back, hoping to find an employee or something who could tell him about the establishment. He found only an empty dumpster and some graffiti on the back fence. Of course he had the absolute worst luck right now. After pulling his puffy jacket closer around his body, he quickly typed in "Tokyo Ice and Sports Center" on his phone. 

Ah. It said it was temporarily closed to public use. In hindsight, it probably would've been smart to check beforehand. 

He shoved his phone back in his pocket and eyed the back door. He tried the handle.

It gave way.

Bokuto considered for half a second that maybe he shouldn't be doing this, and could always wait a little longer, but when he thought about whether or not he'd have the strength to come back later, he quietly opened the door and slipped inside. Just a look. Just a quick, brief look around wouldn't hurt anyone, right? _Man,_ he thought. _If I get arrested for this, of all things..._

Bokuto found himself in a dim backroom of some sort that stored a bunch of stuff, like spare skates, a few skate sharpeners here and there, plus cases upon cases of water bottles in the corner. All of it together somehow made him immediately nostalgic for his younger days at the ice rink close to his childhood home, but he quickly shook off the feeling and stepped through the only other door. There, he found himself hit with the fresh, inexplicable scent of ice and plastic. It felt like home. 

He walked further and found himself between the benches lining the wall and the rink, which was eerily empty itself, devoid of the sound of blades against the ice. For Bokuto, it was haunting. He placed his hand against the glass divider and looked in at the beautifully untouched rink, briefly remembering what it was like to skate against freshly resurfaced ice. It was probably one of the best feelings in the world, at least for him. Like floating. No. That wasn't the word. It was more like soaring, really. 

He smiled briefly to himself before walking further. The facility was essentially one huge room, with three rinks that were each separated by a wall of bleachers. Aside from that, there were also a few lockers near the benches, a small kiosk with gear, and an admittance booth near the entrance. But strangely, no other sign of life. The only other sound aside from Bokuto's heartbeat was the subtle buzzing of the few white overhead lights. It was unnerving, but overall not horrible. Bokuto lived alone now, after all. He'd gotten used to silence. 

But then. 

Then, as he approached the second rink, he heard it. The awfully familiar sound of skates sliding against ice. It was a smooth, continuous one. He frowned. 

_Someone was skating?_

He sped up a little more towards the sound, which came from the rink furthest from the front, and once past the bleachers, he saw him. 

A young man, one that had to be Bokuto's age, maybe even younger, was gliding around effortlessly in the last rink. Bokuto got closer, leaning against the side of the bleachers as he watched. The other man had his eyes closed, thankfully, so he couldn't see him, but Bokuto could see him, and he could see him very well. 

The skater was a little shorter than Bokuto. A little slimmer, too. He wore a simple black long-sleeved tee, with black leggings to match. Bokuto tried to ignore how fitted the skater's clothes were. Instead, he focused on how the skater moved. He had to have been classically trained in ballet, or in figure skating in general, because his movements were precise, like he'd measured them all out in his head beforehand. Like he'd practiced these same procedures constantly. To add onto that, he seemed experienced. His form didn't lack in the slightest. He wasn't shaky. He wasn't hesitant. He knew what he was doing, and Bokuto could recognize that from meters away. 

He watched, almost in a trance, as the black-haired man gracefully looped around in a tight figure eight on the ice. Bokuto knew it was incredibly stalker-ish to be watching the stranger perform like this, but he couldn't help it. He was absolutely entranced by every raise of the man's arms, of the way his body moved so fluidly, and of, most interestingly, the pure bliss on his face. Bokuto knew the exact feeling. He'd worn that expression on his face before, a long time ago. 

Bokuto sighed to himself and turned to leave- he was kind of trespassing, after all- but then he saw a slight movement that caught his eye and kept him from stepping away. The mysterious stranger, while on one foot, bent his knee, ever so slightly. Bokuto's eyes widened. A jump? He could tell when a skater was preparing for one anywhere. The black-haired man swung his arms from behind him to in front for momentum, then he was in the air, his arms tucked to his chest. 

Bokuto gasped quietly to himself. "A forward takeoff..." That could possibly only mean one thing: 

An axel. 

Bokuto watched as the man spun in the air, very subtly braced for impact, and landed, not only well, but well enough for him to continue without a hitch.

He'd counted the rotations.

There was no doubt about it. 

That was a double axel. And such a clean one, too. That was most certainly not something some random guy could do just on a whim. Even Bokuto had had trouble with double axels before during practices before. His eyes widened as the skater reared for yet another jump. _Who is this guy?_ He wondered.

He was probably good enough to make it through the second round in the Grand Prix, at least. He didn't belong in some empty, unknown ice rink right outside Tokyo. 

Bokuto thought, without a doubt, that this figure skater most certainly belonged on the greatest stage in the world, with everyone watching him. 

He cut through the ice and through the air as if it was nothing. He made it seem… effortless, even graceful. 

Bokuto couldn't find the right words to describe the skater's ethereal beauty in that moment. Like a prince, perhaps? Bokuto quietly shook his head to himself. _No. Even better._ He watched intently as the man on the ice turned to start skating backwards, slightly raising one leg behind him. Then, in a precise manner, launched into the air, promptly thereafter landing on the opposite foot. Bokuto whistled low to himself. 

A triple lutz. The performance was getting better by the second. He wanted to know what happened next, to watch this amazing impromptu routine just a little longer. But mere minutes later, to his mild disappointment, the skater stopped in the middle of the rink, his chest heaving as he gazed upward at the skylights.

Bokuto realized that from where he was standing, it was as if the sun was shining on him, and him alone. A warm glow seemed to reflect off his raven hair and his porcelain pale face. He was... beautiful, in every sense of the word. 

Finally, Bokuto found the word to describe him. He stepped forward. But to his dismay, an empty water bottle crunched loudly under his foot. He cursed under his breath as the harsh sound rang through the entire facility. 

As the man quickly turned his head in the direction of the disturbance, he caught sight of Bokuto across the room.

When they gazed at each other, Bokuto could see how deeply blue the stranger's eyes were, and even from afar, it was only confirmed. 

_An angel._

This mysterious skater couldn't have been anything but an angel. 

But the angel's eyes quickly widened in a mixture of mortification and embarrassment upon the sight of Bokuto. And in a matter of milliseconds, he had bolted towards the exit. "Wait," Bokuto said feebly at first, still in awe. "wait!" He shouted more urgently as he ran to meet the skater at the entrance to the rink. But Bokuto wasn't as fast as he used to be, and the skater being fueled off of panic certainly didn't help matters. 

The young man frantically clicked on his skate guards, and, grabbing his backpack off a bench, bolted towards the front door. _Jeez, he shouldn't be humanly able to move that quickly in skates,_ Bokuto thought. He yelled again. "Wait, you were good!" 

" _Leave me alone!_ " The stranger breathlessly yelled back over his shoulder.

His voice caught Bokuto off-guard. It was deeper than he'd anticipated. The momentary hesitation gave the mystery skater enough time to push his way out of the front door, which, to Bokuto's annoyance, seemed locked only from the outside. 

Bokuto caught his breath. He ran over and shoved the door open, a cold gust of wind hitting him like a barrage of needles. Desperately, he gazed around for footprints- or skateprints, really- but couldn't find any. 

The heavy snowfall must've covered up the angel's tracks, along with any other sign that he had ever been there in the first place.

**Author's Note:**

> a friend of mine gave me the idea of a Haikyuu figure skating au and i just went with it and started fleshing it out, hope i did her proud!  
> anyways, it might be a while before this is updated again bc i already have so many other fics to update (and bc i have a TON of research and writing to do), but if i WERE to update this one anytime soon, it would be somewhere in march or april?? idk man  
> also i may or may not be doing some heavy editing of this in the future, but for now, here's a sneak peak of something i'll be working on!
> 
> thanks for reading! love y'all!


End file.
